Radioantenna



Filed May 31, 1927 Patented Jan. 2l, 1930 UNITED STATES IBVIING HRSHEY, OF DENVER, COLORADO RADIOANTEN N A.

Application led May 31, 19'27. Serial No. 195,295.

This invention relates to improvements in a radio reception antenna and has reference more particularly to an outside antenna that can be placed in anelevated position and 5 which shall be so constructed that it can be oscillated about a vertical axis for the purpose of obtaining the greatest efficiency.

It is well understood that a radio antenna can be so constructedthat it will be direc- 1o tional in its action, that'is to say that it will receive better from stations located in one directionthan from stations located in another direction. lAntennae that are unsymmetrical, or which have greater length than width, are of this type. It has of course been long recognized that in order to obtain the best results from 'a' directional antenna, it is necessary to' rotate the same about a vertical axis untilvv its position is such that the maximum eiiiciency is obtained. Indoor antenn such. as are employed in connection with high power sets are usually placed on a table or on top of a cabinet so that they can be rotated in order to get the best adjustment. It has however been found from experience that much better results will be obtained from an outside aerial-'or antenna than. from an inside one and in order to overcome the objection of directionality of the outside 3a antenna, I am aware that there has been sug gested that the same be made ,of a sphere or other symmetrical geographical shape.

Such antennae, however, as a rule present a' very small surface and therefore are not efiicient in-their reception.

It is the object of this invention to produce an outside antenna that shall have considerable area and which shall have a large amount of conductive wire exposedso las to 40 intercept as many of the radio waves as possible. In order to make this antenna light and at the same time obtain the results desired, it is my intention to so construct it that it will have directional properites. The antenna which has been illustrated in connection with this application and which merely serves as an example, is constructed from a rectangular frame made from insulating material-and to which or about which an electric conductor is secured. This forms a flat antenna of considerable area and in order that it shall give the greatest eiiiciency, it is necessary that the plane of the aerial shall be as nearly as possible perpendicular to the direction or to the way the waves are movin'g. In order to make the necessary adjustment so as to obtain the best results for any desired station, I have so mounted my antenna so that it can be rotated about a vertical axisthrough an angle of 90 degrees. The angle through which it rotates may be greater or less than v90 'degrees but it is apparent that any advantage that can be obtained through such a rotation will be obtained Within the arcof 90 degrees.

' Having now briefly described my invention and the objects to be attained, I will .proceed to describe' the preferred embodiment in detail and for this purpose reference will vbe had to the accompanying drawings in which the preferred embodiment has been illustrated and in which:

Fig. l is a perspective View showing my improved antenna secured to a roof.

Fig. 2 is a section taken on line 2--2 of Fig. l with a portion of the pulley broken away so as to more closely disclose the construction.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a part of the structure taken in the'direction of arrow 3, Fig. 1, parts being broken away to better disclose the construction,

A nd Fig. l is a section -on lineAf-fl- Fig. l a'd shows the means for adjusting the position of the antenna and for latching it in adjusted position.

Numeral l represents a ridge board of a roof and to this a suitable supporting plate 2 is secured. This plate has an upwardly eX- tending socket 3 for the reception of the lower end of a tubular support 4. This latter member may be a galvanized or nickle plated iron pipe as its function is merely to support. The upper end of the support 4 is threadedly or otherwise secured to the sleeve 5. Sleeve 5 is provided with four eyelets 6 to which the u per ends of the guy Wires 7 are secured. T e lower ends of these gu wires are secured to -the roof by some suita le means suoli as the 'screw eyes 8. Secured to the support is my 10@ improved antenna which consists of a vertically extending rod 9 whose lower end is preferably secured to the interior of a tubular pipe section 10 Whose lower 'end is connected with the upper end of the sleeve 5. The upper end of rod 9 is preferably machined so as to have a smooth cylindrical surface which has been indicated by numeral 11. A metallic body member 12 is provided with a downwardly projecting cylindrical portion 13 whose interior is bored out so as to form a socket 14 of the proper diameter to receive the end 11. A steel ball 15 may be placed between the bottom of socket 14 and the top of rod 9 so that the body member 12 can rotate as freely as possible about the cylindrical body 11. The ower end of the cylindrical member 13 has formed integral with it or has secured to it a grooved pulley 16. Projecting upwardly from the body member 12 are two cylindrical members 17 which are provided with screws for the reception of the end of the insulating bar 18 of which the antenna frame is formed. A coiled sprinor 19 surrounds the rod 9 between the top otA the tubular section 10 and the lower end of the cylindrical member 13 and has its end secured to parts 10 and 13 byv means of screws 20. This spring has the tendency to maintain the parts in a predetermined position but permits them to be rotated through a small arc which must be at least as great as 90 degrees. lf the member 12 is rotated from the neutral position, spring 19 will immediately be put under stress and will exert a force tending to return member 12 to the neutral position.

I will now proceed to describe the means by which the member 12 and the antenna of which it forms a part, can be rotated by the operator from a room within the building. For this purpose I have securedto the pipe section 10 a sleeve 21 which is clamped in position by means of a screw 22. Extending outwardly from one side of this sleeve is a lug 23 to which a bell cranlr lever having a vertical arm 24 and a horizontal arm 25 is pivotally connected by means a screw 26. The upper end of arm has ured 'to it a flexible cable 27 which may be formed from a large number ot tine copper wires so as to prevent breakage. The other end of this cable is connected to the periphery of pulley 16 by means ot a screw 28, rlhe parts are so adjusted that when the bell crank leveris ree to assume a position ci? rest, the spring 9 will still be under a slight `tension and will i old the parts in position shown in Fig. 2. it is evident 'that it a torce applicel to the ter end oit the lever arm which is sui'iicient to vercome the 'force the spring 19, that this lever arm can be rotated auf as it is thus l 'member 12 and .Li u u* the a .ed .1. ris it is all exceed 90 9 that will be ..egreesq I have provider. a

engaged by the lever 25 when the maximum amount of required rotation has been effected. This stop, although desirable, is not entirely necessary as no harm can be done if the antenna is rotated through more than 90 degrecs and as the extent of its rotation is determined by the quality of the reception received and as the receptive eiciency will pass through a maximum somewhere within the arc of 90 degrees, there is no occasion Jfor the operator to subject it to a force which will tend to move it through a greater angle.

As the antenna is located on the rootl and as the operator is usually within the building, it is necessary that some means shall be provided which will enable the operator within the building to rotate the antenna. For this purpose l have provided an electrical conductor 3() whose upper end is connected to the outer end of lever 25 by an insulating member 3l and which is supported out ot contact with the building by means of an insulated eyelet 32. The lower end of wire 30 passes around a pully 33 which is secured to the outside wall at the outer end ot' an insulating bushing 3i which extends entirely through the wall of the house. It wire 30 should project into the interior orl the building, it is evident that the operator might by exerting a pull on this wire overcome the action oit spring 19 and rotate the aerial frame about the vertical axis. In order to facilitate the adjustment and to clamp or latch the parts in adjusted position, the lower end ot' the wire 30 has been secured to one end of a cylindricaln rod 35 which slides within the interior of bushing 3i. The outer surface of this rod may be provided with graduations by means of which its position can be accurately determined. Secured to the inside of the building is an insulating plate 36 to which the metal bushing 37 is attached. This bushing has a round fiange 3S that rests against the outer surface of the insulating plate 36. and is secured to the latter by screws 39. rThe bushing 3T is also provided with a threaded opening for the reception of a clamping` screw 40 whose end is provided with wings; the inner end ot' rod 35 is provided with an eyelet ill to which thel.conductor Ll2 is connected. Conductor 42 extends to the antenna binding posts on the reception device. Referring more particularly to Fig. 1 it will be observed that a wire 13 has been wrapped about or secured to the `frame members 13 so to `form a wire grid that constitutes the aerial. T his wire is connected to wire 30 elli.

From the above description it will be apparent that an operator located within building' can by merelyv loosen screw 'Ll-0 and moving` the bar 35 ii wardly or outward lv. rotate 'the aerial iframe into kich a position that the greatest an'iount ot radio enerfY will be intercepted t e have been properly adjusted lila any important station can be logged by means of the graduations on the rod 35 so that when the operator desires to tune in on any given station, 11e can first adjust his antenna and ywill thereby be in position to more quickly 4 evident that the same results may be obtained by specifically different means and I therefore want it distinctly understood that the device described is illustrative only and that I do not intend to limit myself to the exact construction shown more than is necessary by the prior art.

The ybroad idea underlying this invention, as it now appears to me, is the use of a directional antenna which 'can bc operated in an elevated position in such a way that it can be rotated about a vertical axis. This is combined with means whereby it is possible for an operator locatedv Within the building to adjust the position of the antenna so as to obtain the best reception.

Having described my invention what I claim as new is:

1. A radio reception antenna comprising, `in combination, a support, a directional antenna, means .for connecting the antenna t0 the support so that it can be oscillated, means comprising a. spring for producinga force tending to move the antenna in one direction, means comprising a iiexible tension for moving it against the force of the spring and means for holding the parts in adjusted position.

2. A radio reception antenna comprising,

upper end of the bar so as to be rotatably supported-thereon, a spring having one end secured to the bar and the other to the frame, a bell crank lever pivoted to the bar and at a point below the socket and means for connecting one end of one of the arms of said lever to the socket in such a manner that the frame will be rotated when the lever is rotated about its pivot.

5. An adjustable radio antenna adapted to be placed on the outside of a building and operated from the inside of the building comprising, in combination, a vertical sup?y porting member, means for holding the support in place, an antenna frame, means for securing the frame to the support so that it may be oscillated about a verti'cal axis, a stop for limiting the rotation of the frame ink one direction, yieldable means for normally hold-ing the frame against the stop, a lead-in wire having one end connected lwith the frame and the other end terminating Within the building, said wire comprising partof a means for rotating the frame aboutits pivot, and means for holding the framev in .adjusted position.

In testimony whereof I atlix my signature.

' IRVING HERSHEY.

in combination, a rod-like member forming a support, a directional antenna, means for securing the antenna to the support .so that it can be oscillated, means comprising a portion of a means :for moving the antenna against the force of the spring, and means for holding the antenna in adjusted position.

3. Aradio reception antenna comprising, a support, an antenna f rame, means for securing the frame tothe support so that 1t can be oscillated about a vertical axis, means comprising a spring for producinga force tending to rotate the frame in one dlrection, means for limiting the rotation due to the action of the spring, a lead in conductor connected with the frame, said conductorr comprising a means for rotating the frame against the tension of the spring and means for latching the frame in adjusted pos1t1on.

4. A radio antenna comprising, in combination, a vertical bar, an antenna frame provided with a socket adapted to receive the 

